The Story of Mohammad Sarsur
by starblack17
Summary: This is the story of Mohammad Sarsur, an Arab-Japanese from Israel, and his life at Itomori, until the comet came across...
1. Chapter 1: Story

**Hi all, starblack17 here! first of all, sorry for my gramatical error, I'm not fluent in English, i hope my story still readable to you all.**

 **Quite a random background eh? hehehe... how an Arab-Japanese from Israel could wound up in small town like Itomori? i hope Mr. Mohammad Sarsur could give us some enlightment about that :D**

 **~o~**

2013, the year when i saw the greatest disaster, and the weirdest experience in my entire life.

That was the time when i saw with my own eyes, the destruction of my mother's hometown, when the beauty sight of that comet also bring its own judgment.

 _"God have mercy...God have mercy...God have mercy..."_

That was the only words i repeat when i was saw that disaster...

.

.

.

.

"Hey...Mo!"

The shouting voice wake me up from my daydreaming, that's the voice of my friend, Ya'akov.

~o~

"Hey Mo, too early for daydreaming right?" Ya'akov start to talk to me and take the seat beside my seat in the class

"Hmm...just a little bit bored, hey, for this week, Maccabi will face Kiryat Shmona right?" i'm try to find another topic for both us, football seems to be the best topic for us now.

"Yep, you'll watch it at the stadion?"

"Yeah...I think i will.."

"Hey..you should bring your mother's "shawarma katsu" man..that food rocks!"

"It just a piece of chicken katsu inside pita bread, okay, i tell my mother if she can make some for our match snack."

"Great! no more hunger! hahaha!"

I just smirked and continue to see the sky through our class window.

Looking my longing eyes, Ya'akov start to look concerned

"Sorry for asking, but..the reason you always seems daydreaming... its that because your time in Japan?"

I hear his question, but i unconsciously didn't answer that

"It's okay if you didn't want to speak about that, once again, sorry for ask...

"No, that's okay, i'm just spaced out, i'll tell the story to you when we have much time"

"Don't worry, we can talk about that in another time, by the way, it looks like our next class will be started shortly, i'll back to my seat okay?"

"Kay!"

After that, our mathematic teacher comes to our class and put some of her belonging to her table.

~o~

 _Gifu, Japan, one years ago..._

When people says Japan, my mind will full of the picture of Tokyo, with its high buildings, its lifestyle, and all that big city has.

After me and my parents arrived in my mother's hometown, well...you can say i'm a little bit surprised.

Itomori

My mother always tell me that Itomori is just small town with a lake in the center, nothing interesting about that.

With only one convenience store that only open until 9 PM, trains that only come every 2 hours, rice and grass field as far as my eyes can see and no cafe whatsoever, its really far from my images about Japan, that myself wrongfully assimilate with images about Tokyo.

But my mother always says that there's two things that makes her love her hometown so much.

 _"It's close-knit and peaceful"_

And it really does, far from blasting city life in Tel-Aviv.

~o~

I'm really nervous about my Japanese Language, yes, my mother taught me Japanese since i was 8 years old, but with only my mother as my speaking partner for years, i still not fully confident to talk with my new classmates.

And the weird thing (for me) is she always taught and speak formal Japanese and not taught me dialects from her hometown.

Well...time to put my Arabic and Hebrew aside and be a full dedicated "nihonjin".

Then, the first school break as a student in Japan come

"Hi...err..Sa~su~san"

"Hi"

One of my new classmate greets me

Whuffft..first conversation imminent

"Err..sorry if i spell your name wrong."

"It's OK, don't worry about that."

The fact is, i'm not having too much concern about how people here in Itomori would spell my name.

"My name is Takeya, Hideo Takeya, nice to meet you!"

"Hi Takeya-san, Mohammad Sarsur here!"

There's my first handshake in Itomori

"Actually Sa~Su~san, can i ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Err..how to spell your surname correctly?"

Well..unexpected question, i think..

"Hmm..actually the "s" is like the usual "sa" and "su", but with more pressing to your upper mouth, and the "a" sound is more like "o", but it's like your mouth try to make "o" but you try to make "a" voice."

Hideo's face show unsurprising confusion, that's my best shot to explain Arabic letter pronunciation to Japanese people.

"But don't think about it too much, you can still call me Sa~Su~, that's how i wrote my surname in katakana in front of the class, right?"

"Yeah..hehehe, i think it works"

~o~

Two weeks in Itomori, I started to have friends and knowing some local resident, i also started to adapt myself in Itomori, okay..maybe Itomori didn't have big mall, fancy restaurant, or nicest falafel* seller in the world, but honestly, i try to enjoy my life in this small town and it didn't bad at all. Go to school, join football club, grab some snacks and drinks in our only convenience store with Hideo (now i called him in first name basis), some strolling around the town, yeah..sometimes it feels boring, but like my mother says, it's so peaceful here.

At one day after school, Me and Hideo are on the way to go home, my eyes hooked up to the lake, full of curiousity, i ask Hideo about that lake

"Hey Hideo, do you know how that lake was formed?"

"Err...people said that some thousand years ago, there was a meteor strike here, and the impact of the meteor builds a crater, and because that, the lake was formed"

"Meteor huh, must be a big one"

"Wait..do you have more superlative word than "big"? I'm sure that the meteor was so enormous! do you couldn't see the crater size?" Hideo jokingly mad to me.

"Okay okay..sorry for my limited vocabulary."

Both of us laughing about this conversation.

At the front of Hideo's house, i say my parting to him, resuming my way to my home.

 **~o~**

 **I hope i'm not confusing you too much, maybe the story will be on slow pace.**

 **I tried to explain some information about him and his family in next chapter, and of course, he will meet some of canon character in the series.**

 **-o-**

 ***: Falafel is a traditional Egyptian and Middle Eastern food. It's a deep-fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas, fava beans, or both. Sometimes serves with a pita bread.**


	2. Chapter 2: Settle

**Hi All...starblack17 here** , **sorry for slow update** , **and thank you very much for the reviews!**

 **~o~**

Tel-Aviv, "The city that never stops"...

A rapidly growing city in the midst of an exciting transition from medium-sized urban center to bustling international metropolis.

Its booming population, energy, edginess and 24-hour life style...

And now i'm here, in the small town that sleep at 9 PM

Well...the pub maybe still open a little bit late...

~o~

In Itomori, I live in my grandfather's house, my grandparents from my mother's side are already passed away when i still 3 years old, so the house was a bit abandoned, but when my father got his job relocated to Itomori, my mother ask some homebuilder in Itomori to renovated the house so we can live there, My grandfather house is located near the lake.

My father, Abbas Sarsur is a supervisor of infrastructure company in Israel that has a joint venture with a company in Japan, with some infrastructure will be build in Itomori, my father got selected as a supervisor to supervise the infrastructure building progress here.

My mother, Saki Inamoto is a native Itomori that move to Tokyo after she graduated from high school, after she graduated from university, She was go to Israel as Japanese Language teacher, my parents meet for the first time at Tel-Aviv.

Some photos of my late grandparents still exist in the house, my mother ask my father to hung one of the photo of them in the living room, the portrait of them together with my mother when she still in high school.

My mother likes to look at the portrait, maybe the nostalgia value still hits her hard, after years and years far from her hometown, now She can live and sleep in her own house again, the place of her childhood. My father will just stand beside my mother and start smiling.

"It just like a yesterday, when i ask them to marry you..." my father says.

And me, i'm just like to saw their romantic moment together.

~o~

One day, not long after we moved to Itomori, I accompany my mother to do some shopping at the convenience store.

"Mom, it is really that, that convenience store is the only one around here?"

"Yes dear, i even know the owner since the konbini is still a common groceries. And please dear, can we use Japanese?" my mother giggling slightly, maybe she felt weird if we walk around Itomori while still speaking Hebrew.

"Ken*..."

My mother give a glance to me

"Kaa-san..."

My mother rub my head and smile.

We enter the konbini, take things needed, and going straight to the counter, suddenly, my mother start to talk to the cassier

"Haraguchi-san...Haraguchi-san right?"

The cassier seems confused.

"Yes..and.."

"It's me, Saki!"

"Saki...SAKI INAMOTO?!SAKI-CHAN?!"

"YES!IT'S ME AUNTIE!"

Two of them start crying and hugging, it's just us inside the konbini, but i feel a little bit awkward.

A middle-aged man come inside the konbini, looking at two woman hugging and one boy who just staring at them, he looks confused.

"Hey Haraguchi, what happen? who is this woman?"

"TAKAMITSU!IT'S SAKI!SAKI-CHAN!"

"What? Inamoto's daughter?"

And now three grown-ups are happily crying in unison.

"Is this kind of situation would always happen when my mother meets people here..."

Yep..just like my mother says..so close-knit.

~o~

"Hey Mo, tell us about your hometown!"

"Yeah, I want to know about Israel!"

So at the school break, I have Yuzo, Keiji, and Kasumi, three of my classmates that suddenly want to know about my country...

"Well, my hometown, Tel-Aviv is a...city, you know, buildings, cafes, malls, just like another city in the world, think Tokyo without Akihabara"

That's a lousy comparation, i admit

"...and beach, we have many beach, It's so crowded there when holiday season comes. Bottomline, it's the burstling city that you can imagine."

"So, how is your daily life here?" Keiji ask to me

"Hmm..example for a school-free day, I have a little bit jog in HaYarkon Park in the morning, accompany my mother to do some shopping in HaCarmel Market (and treat myself with some free taster), some strolling at the beach, and sometimes me and my friends go to Azrieli Center, one of the biggest mall in Tel-Aviv, usually to watch movie."

"Wow...looks like fun there, i want to shopping at the mall too." Kasumi slightly pouting

"Yeah..so different than our beloved town here, when you can found yourself alone and no people in sight as long as your eyes can see in the night." Yuzo says that and laugh.

I suddenly remember that i brought something

"By the way, I brought some fruit, gotta give you all some middle east taste.."

I take a pack of date fruit and give some of it to them

"Be careful, there's a seed inside the fruit"

Looks like this is the first time they eat dates

"So..how is it?"

"Well..unique taste here." Keiji still observe the taste.

"It's sweet, i kinda like this fruit." Kasumi looks happy

Yuzo? no comment from him, he just eat and eat it again.

~o~

 **Well** , **slow pace indeed** , **but i just want to flesh out Sarsur's life in Itomori before he meets some canon character** , **I'm sorry about that**.

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **-o-**

 **Talk With Reviewer**

 **starkitty10: I'm glad you have an interest into my story! I hope you already have some Falafel today ;)**

 **Mizore Shirayuki: I hope the story's slow pace can show the dynamic of different cultures** , **Thank you for your words!**

 **nicbob255: My English grammar is not so good** , **I hope I can improve it in the future** , **thanks for your concern :)  
**

 **TheEpicAnimeBoyX: Syukran! thank you for read my story :)**

 **MittensTheWorld9: I'm surely should work with my grammar hehehe**... **nice to know that you love the story :)  
**

 **DarwinismRising: I just want to give more reality in the story** , **I try to keep the religious content in casual** **, minimum level** , **sorry if you not content with that** , **thank you very much for your review!**

 **-o-**

 ***: "Ken" is "Yes" in Hebrew**.


	3. Chapter 3: Strings (Part 1)

**Hi all! starblack17 here! I decide to break this chapter into two part** , **because if I didn't do that** , **I dont know when i will post next chapter :D**

 **~o~**

"Shabahul Khair*...wake up dear..."

The soft voice of my mother wakes me up.

"Mom...it's Sunday, I want my hibernation session run smoothly..."

My mother giggling softly after hearing my semi-conscious rambling, seconds later, I realize there's something unusual

"No "Boker Tov**" for me this morning?" It's rare to hear my mother speaks Arabic

"Actually I want to give you "Ohayou", got to make you more Japanese." my mother laughing slightly.

"Well...there's anything i can help mom? in 8 o'clock on Sunday?" My eyes still half-open, looks like some part of my soul still not come to my body.

"I want you to accompany me, we would visit grandma Hitoha."

Grandma Hitoha?

"She is one of the respected seniors here, She is the head of Miyamizu Shrine, you know...the shrine up there? i think it'll be rude if i not visit her yet, so hurry up, take a bath and grab some breakfast!" my mother gives me an upbeat smile.

~o~

"Oh, welcome Saki, I didn't see you in many years..." Grandma Hitoha hugs my mother in front of her house, tears comes from her eyes

"I'm finally come back here, Hitoha-obaasan..."

"Well...this boy...this is your son, Saki?"

"Yes, my only son, dear, this is Hitoha-obaasan."

I give a bow to grandma Hitoha

"My name is Mohammad Sarsur, you can call me Mo anyway."

Grandma Hitoha seemed to pay attention to my face

"You look more Japanese than I expect, Mo-kun"

"It looks like he inherit my face much more than my husband." My mother giggling about that, as an Arab-Japanese that lives in Israel, my face feature really takes my mother side, my face is not much different with common Japanese male, but with blue eyes inherited from my father. My friends in Israel sometimes called me "Chinese" because my face, i'm just laugh at their geographic failure.

"Well...let's go inside, I really wants to talk about many things, Saki" grandma Hitoha invite us to come inside her house

"Mitsuha, can you bring some drink and snack at the kitchen, we have a guest here."

"A minute, obaa-chan." I hear girl's voice across the living room

Shortly after, a girl comes to living room carrying juice and a bowl of senbei cracker on a tray, I guess she has a same age with me

"Mitsuha, this is Inamoto-san and his son Mo-kun."

Mitsuha give my mother a bow, my mother smiling at her

"Oh Mitsuha-chan, this is my son, have you two meet each other at school?"

Me and Mitsuha give each other a bow

"Hi Mo-kun, my name is Mitsuha Miyamizu, are you from second year?"

"Yes, how do you know?"

"This place is small, Mo-kun, you'll learn how close-knit this town are." Mitsuha tell me while have a small laugh.

Close-knit eh...

"Ah...Obaa-chan, Inamoto-san, excuse me, Saya-chin surely waiting me at her house, I already tell her that i will go to her house at 10."

"Oh...alright then, be careful Mitsuha-chan"

Mitsuha gives us a farewell and proceed to go to her friend's house, now there's only three of ours in a living room, my mother and grandma Hitoha talk about many things, i'm mostly only observe them."

"Obaa-san, can i do some braiding? it's very long time..." my mother suddenly change the subject.

"Oh sure, It's surely a long time since last time I saw you do it..."

Grandma Hitoha invite us to another room, there's many thread and a kind of manual braiding machine that i didn't have a clue about what its name, grandma Hitoha gives my mother a gesture to do some braiding, i watch my mother braids some thread.

"Can I braid some Challah*** with this machine?" I'm jokingly said that, imagining braid some bread with that machine, my mother just response my joke with some soft laugh.

I saw grandma Hitoha face when she looking my mom braid some string, there's a longing expression on her face.

"Back then, you always fight with Futaba for using that braiding tool..."

 **~o~**

 **There's some short chapter** , **sorry for the shortness** , **and thank you for reading!**

 **-o-**

 *** & **: Arabic and Hebrew for "Good Morning"**, **respectively**

 *****: Challah is a special Jewish ceremonial bread, from which a small portion has been set aside as an offering, often braided for a beautiful presentation.**


	4. Chapter 4: Strings (Part 2)

**Hi All** _,_ **starblack17 here! Enjoy the part 2!**

 **~o~**

 _Itomori, many years ago_

"Hey Futaba-chan, what is your plan after we are graduated? we are already third-year student now."

Futaba looks on the sky, there was short silence before her answer."

"I'll stay here, taking care of the shrine with my mother, how about you, Saki-chan?"

"Me? of course I'll straight to college in Tokyo, graduate, and find a job overseas! Did I tell my plan to you many times Futaba-chan?"

"Fufufu, well...you're really serious about "go overseas" thing I think"

"Of course! Live in the new scenery, meet new people, eat weird food, Ahh...all of that things makes me fired up!"

"But I think you should do something with your English test score, Iikura-sensei never gives you more than 65 at tests.

Her answer makes Saki pouted, the sight of pouted Saki makes Futaba giggles.

"You meanie Futaba-chan! Surely I'll improve my English! nothing can hinder me! HAHAHAHA!"

Futaba was only smiling at Saki's goofy antic.

"Ah...your energetic vibes always cheers me up, Saki-chan...it seems like nothing will troubling you for your dream"

There was a silence again between the two.

"Actually...there's one thing that troubled me..."

"Hmm...what is that, Saki-chan?"

"That I'll go to places far away without you near me, Futaba-chan..."

Suddenly, there was a frown in Saki's face.

"Who will scold me if I do something stupid? who will tenderly take care of mee if I idiotically injured myself? who will kindly listen my nonsense rambling? who will...there beside me when I'm alone..."

Looking at Saki's frowned face, Futaba grab her friend's shoulder.

"You are Saki Inamoto! daughter of Yuji Inamoto, the best carpenter in Gifu! You are Saki the Iron Fist! who beat five bully boys with your own bare knuckles! who's the girl who got bruises at the whole body because she was fall from his bike at the forest and jaust laugh at it? who's the girl who always shouting every night at the front of shrine and shout "I WILL VISIT ALL PLACES IN THE WORLD"? What you need to do is show the world what Saki Inamoto of Itomori can do!

The looks of Futaba as fiery as that makes Saki a little bit surprised

"Are we switching bodies now...?"

The two of them start laughing together, and then Futaba holds both of Saki's hands softly.

"Even when i'm not beside you, I'll always pray for your safety and your happiness, so never think that you will alone, because I'll give you this..."

Futaba takes a bracelet from her pocket.

"A thread bracelet..."

"I make it only for you, you like blue colour, right?"

~o~

Futaba?

I think I know that name, that's my mother's childhood friend, my mother sometimes tell me about her time when still live in Itomori, and I remember when my mother was so sad when she got a phone that her friends passed away.

"She was always serious about braiding, me on the other hand, just want to play this tool without knowing how to use this, sometimes I'm just use the thread to make Tokyo Tower with my finger when she already could make hairbands and bracelet." My mother is smiling when she heard her friend's name.

The thread starts to form something, but I'm not sure what is my mother try to make.

"I thought how Futaba somehow can stand with all of my behaviour, she always help to solve the trouble that I make, she really just like a kind big sister that always looks for her troublemaker little sister."

Imagining my mother as a troublemaker in her younger days is still too weird for me.

"Sometimes I just want to turn back time a little to just relieve my memory with her."

"Time...the flow of time..." Grandma Hitoha says something.

"They converge and take shape. They twist, tangle, sometimes unravel, break, then connect again, just like this braided cords...That's Musubi isn't it, Obaa-san?"

Grandma Hitoha was only smiling and start sit besides my mother who still braiding the cords.

~o~

It's 2 PM now, me and my mother says farewell to grandma Hitoha, on the way home, I ask something to my mother.

"Mom, what's the musubi you're talking about back then?"

"Well...Musubi is the old way of calling the local guardian god, It's literally means "knotting", but that word has profound meaning..."

I'm try to understand my mother's explanation.

"Tying thread is Musubi, connecting people is Musubi, the flow of time is Musubi, the braided cords is the symbolization of God's art and represent the flow of time itself."

That's it, I didn't understand all of that, my mother laugh a little when looking my confused face.

"Don't think about that too much dear, look, I made a bracelet for you..."

So that's what my mother braid back then...

"Sorry if that's not so good, there's many time since last time I braid some bracelet..."

"No mom, it's cool, thank you very much...Kaa-san..."

My mother softly pinch my cheek and smile.

 **~o~**

 **It turns out to be Mo's mother chapter I think** _,_ **well this is his mother's hometown afterall** _,_ **and always** _,_ **thank you for read my story** **! :)**

 **-o-**

 **Talk With Reviewer**

 **DarwinismRising: Thank you for your support! very apreciated that :)**

 **starkitty10: Dates seed is not dangerous, but still if you not careful, you can get choked by it, especially for child, so be careful ;)**

 **TheEpicAnimeBoyX: I thought to :D**

 **MittensTheWorld9: It should be at school break time when Mo and three of his friend eat dates, sorry for not explaining it clearly on the story, I already corrected that, so thank you for reminding me :) and that's remind me that there's no single animals appears yet on my story :D let's see if there's any cute kitten appears ;)**


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